


never enough (a study of the meaningless life of Peter Kirkland)

by orphan_account



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, cross-posted from tumblr, occasionally au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-28
Updated: 2012-09-28
Packaged: 2017-11-15 05:16:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/523557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter Kirkland was born for the first time on the seashore during a summer storm. </p><p>Peter Kirkland is reborn at the age of fifteen in a back alley in Stockholm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	never enough (a study of the meaningless life of Peter Kirkland)

Peter Kirkland was born for the first time on the seashore during a summer storm. 

He’ll never know that, just like he’ll never know his parent’s names or faces. He’ll never know where he came from, or stories reaching back to his father’s father’s father. 

Peter has never felt the loss, has never felt alone. He doesn't know if he really remembers it, or if it’s something he’s made up to go with a story someone told him when he young, but he can envision opening his eyes in an unfamiliar place. There was a man kneeling in front of him, with green eyes and a kind face. 

“You can call me Arthur.” 

Everything is alright for a little while, and Peter and Arthur are happy, or at least content. Peter was born curious, so he makes a few mistakes before he gets it right, but eventually he learns not to ask why there are pictures of strangers who look a bit like him on the walls. 

Peter and Arthur, (always Arthur, never Artie or Dad or anything else. This is another one of the topics Peter has learned to never touch. He still remembers the look on Arthur’s face when he came home from school one day and asked if Arthur was his brother. What Arthur doesn't know is that Peter saw him later that night too, with the tumbler of brandy in hand.) live in a quiet seaside town. There are no other children, and people always seem to pause before they speak to Peter. He has never thought to question it, until Arthur slipped one night and called him a name he’d never heard before. 

Arthur called him Alfred. 

Peter Kirkland is reborn at the age of fifteen in a back alley in Stockholm. 

It’s dark and quiet, and Peter has never felt so alone. He’s in a strange city surrounded by strange people speaking a language that sounds nothing like his own. 

He’s left England and Arthur and everything else behind, but a part of him that’s still in that seaside town worries about Arthur, worries about how much brandy has disappeared tonight. He can’t even blame Arthur, because the lines were clearly delineated, but he was the one who chose to cross them. Peter never wanted this, he just wanted to be something other than a replacement for a boy he’s never met. 

He’s sitting propped up on a discarded cardboard box, pulling his thin sweater closer around himself. Peter’s not sure what he’s going to do tonight, but the sun has already set and it’s only going to get colder. He regrets this a little bit, and he’s a little surprised that what he’s doing hasn't sunk in before now. 

There’s a rustling behind him, and Peter turns around with a start. He’s thin, and small for his age, but impulsive enough not to run from a fight, but he’ll never learn. Luckily, it’s a kind looking man with violet eyes and a small smile, infectious enough that Peter can’t help but smile back.

“You don’t have anywhere to stay, do you? Here, I’ll buy you a hot chocolate and we’ll see about finding you a place to stay.”


End file.
